T’agba ba nse bi omode
Omode a maa se bi agba**
“How dare you?!”,
She asked.
The riveting thunder of her question
Rattled the roof of a sleepy world.
In her belly a compelling volcano
Urgent with fearless fire
In her mouth
The tongue of Sage and Seer:
Listen to the tree
Respect the river
Tame that Greed which consumes OUR world
Give OUR Earth a chance to live
“How dare you?!”,
She asked.
From pole to pole, that thunder
Nettled powerful naysayers
Who lost every sense
Of the Reason behind her Rage,
Its impatient indignation
Its roaring, redemptive reproach.
“How dare you?!”,
She asked.
The Women of Greenham Common***
Nodded in grateful remembrance. . .
Our Universe rocks
To the rhythm of her courage
The Future
Sways to the vastness of her vision
“How dare you?!”,
She asked.
* Swedish teenager who has touched the conscience of the world with her environmental/climate activism
** When elders lack the wisdom that comes with age
Children will rise up to mend the lack.
Yoruba saying.
*** Also known as Women for Life on Earth
Niyi Osundare is one of Africa’s foremost poets and a Distinguished Professor of the University of New Orleans (UNO), where he teaches in the English Department.
Picture credit: The Economic Times, India.
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